I-League: Viva Kerala stun Mohun Bagan

Hosts Viva Kerala surprised formidable Mohun Bagan, beating them 2-0 in a seventh round match in the I-League, in Kannur on Tuesday.

Viva led 1-0 at half-time.

Viva forged ahead through striker Karma in the 12th minute and P K Anil Kumar completed the tally in the 73rd minute, much to the delight of the crowd.

Viva, playing before their home crowd got off to an aggressive start and could have taken the lead in the initial moments of the game, but their strikers Anilkumar and Karma were late in latching on to the brilliant crosses given by captain Bello Razzak.

However, in the 12th minute Viva got their reward. Bagan goalkeeper Shilton Paul managed to avert a dangerous shot by Felix, but the ball rolled to a waiting Anilkumar, who did the rest, much to the delight of the crowd.

Encouraged by the success Viva went all out to increase the tally, but were unlucky to see most of their attempts going wayward.

In the second half, Anil Kumar struck the winner after he was fed by a brilliant overhead pass by Felix in the 73rd minute.

With this victory Viva swelled their points tally to six from seven matches while Bagan remained at eight points.

Viva, in their next match, will cross swords with East Bengal on January 18 at the same venue.

Dempo down ONGC

Dempo Sports Club put up a disciplined performance to score a convincing 2-0 victory over ONGC in a seventh round I-League match at the Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Tuesday.

Dempo, who registered their third win in the league, made early forays and took the lead in the eighth minute through striker Joaquim Abranches.

The return of Abranches boosted Dempo's attack, as he, along with man-of-the-match Roberto Silva, spearheaded the home team's forwardline.

Silva, who moved dangerously with the ball, was brought down on top of the box by defender Gour Naskar. Silva, who took the free-kick, scored amidst controversial circumstances.

The Dempo striker floated the ball, which hit the crossbar and crossed the goal line. The rival keeper, Rajat Dastidar, collected it and tried to convince referee C R Srikrishna that the ball did not cross the goalline. But it was not to be; instead, he earned a yellow card for arguing with the assistant referee.

The young Mumbai side though did not lag behind and gave a good account of themselves, creating a couple of chances but failing to convert them into goals.

Dempo continued to dictate terms after the change of ends and had two early chances to swell the scoreline but Abranches and Peter Carvalho failed to convert the chances.

With this win, Dempo have 12 points from seven matches, while ONGC remain with four points from as many ties.